Assemblable and disassemblable partition



Sept. 27, 1966 Filed May '7, 1962 R. NEAGLE 3,274,741

ASSEMBLABLE AND DISASSEMBLABLE PARTITION 3 Sheets-Sheet l RICH ARDNEAGLE INVENTOR.

Sept. 27, 1966 R. NEAGLE ASSEMBLABLE AND DISASSEMBLABLE PARTITION I5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1962 RICHARD NEAGLE INV EN TOR.

BY 3 H. 1R1,

AGENT Sept. 27, 1966 R. NEAGLE 3,274,741

ASSEMBLABLE AND DISASSEMBLABLE PARTITION Filed May 7, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 5 RICHARD NEAGLE INVENTOR.

BY CKGA 12m;

AGENT United States Patent 3,274,741 ASSEMBLABLE AND DISASSEMBLABLEPARTITION Richard Neagle, Milan, Italy, assign'or, by mesne assignmcnts,to Edison, Milan, Italy, a corporation of Italy Filed May 7, 1962, Ser.No. 192,865 Claims priority, application Italy, May 9, 1961, 8,577/61Claims. (Cl. 52242) The present invention relates to a system of shapedmembers which can be joined together so as to form a partition wall madeentirely of plastic material and particularly suitable, because of theease with which it can be dismantled and reassembled, for offices,stands, dwellings and the like.

Several types of partition walls which can be partially or whollydismantled and reassembled, are already known, and these consist for themost part, of metal frameworks adapted to support panels of wood orother material and panes of glass at various heights.

In general, such types of partition walls involve com plex shaping ofthe several parts and are by no means easy .to erect and/ or dismantle;furthermore, they are somewhat costly and their total weight is ratherhigh.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a partitionwall for a very wide variety of uses, which can easily be erected andtaken down, is light in weight and costs appreciably less than the knowntypes.

Another object of the invention is particularly to exploit certain typesof plastic material so that all the component members can be rapidly andcheaply made, and

also to provide manifest aesthetic advantages.

A further object of the invention is to avoid the need to use specialtools for assembling and dismantling the several members forming thewall, and to enable the wall to be easily and conveniently adapted to avariety of requirements, including special modes of subdividing rooms.

These and yet other objects which may appear more clearly from thedetailed description which follows, are in practice attained by apartition wall provided by the removable combination of a plurality ofelements, all made of plastic material, which wall, according to theinvention, is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of spacedtubular prismatic uprights having at least at their ends cavities orsocket portions receiving plug-like anchoring elements forming tongueand groove joints with the uprights and adapted to be removably fastenedonto the floor, ceiling or other supporting surface of the room to befurnished with the partition wall; panels disposed between the uprights;longitudinal ribs or flanges rigid with said uprights for the removablefixing of the panel sides to their respective adjacent uprights;rod-shaped transverse section members delimiting the transverse sides ofthe end panels; rod-shaped vertical section members delimiting thevertical sides of the panels; and strip sections with fins that can bejammed into at least one longitudinal interstice existing between theparts making up the partition wall.

The partition wall may with advantage be formed of a framework ofextruded plastic sections, consisting of an assembly of uprights,transverse shaped members or ribs and/ or hollow members for joining thecomponent parts of the partition walls and of panels, also of plasticmaterial, preferably of light-weight type, e.g. expanded material or thelike, alternating with panes of glass or the like. The uprights and/orat least some of said ribs and joining members, which are also ofplastics, are at least in part hollow and can be removably connectedrespectively between the ceiling and the fioor and between one uprightand the next by means of plug supporting members which can be rabbetjointed. The rabbet-joint means are provided both on the uprights and onthe members 3,274,741 Patented Sept. 27, 1966 ice adapted to join theuprights and the rib members together and to lock said panels and/orglass panes therebetween, while other joining and finishing sections,which can be force-fitted between the various joint surfaces, areprovided to eliminate sharp corners and/or interstices which might formundesirable receptacles for dust and other dirt.

The invention, in a preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, willnow be described in greater detail with reference to a preferredembodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show, in cross-section, two types of extruded plasticsection constituting the uprights;

FIG. 3 shows, in vertical section, an extruded plastic sectionconstitutingthe supporting socle for the panels and/ or for the glasspanes;

FIG. 4 shows also in cross-section, an extruded plastic section formingthe transverse and vertical connecting rib members between the variousparts of the wall;

FIGURES 5, 6, 7 and 8 show cross-sectional views of plastic sectionsserving as joining and finishing members between the various parts whichare in contact with each other or with the ceiling or floor;

FIGURES 9, 10 and 11 show cross-sections of other extruded sectionsserving as connecting members between the several parts of thesupporting framework;

FIGURES 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 show in perspective views several membersof plastics or metal, for locking in rabbet joints particularly thesections making up the supporting frame;

FIGURES 17, 18, 19 and 20 show perspective views of some joints, duringthe assembling stage respectively between an upright and a plugsupporting member, between an upright and a socle member forming acorner of the framework, between an upright and a transverse rib-memberforming a support for the panels, glass panes and so forth, and finallybetween a plug member fixed to the ceiling and a section forming anintermediate support between the panels;

FIG. 21 shows in perspective part of the wall already erected,particularly a corner with a glass pane fixed between an upright and astringer rib member running on a plastic panel;

FIG. 22 shows a perspective view of a T-shaped wall, i.e. the assemblyof two walls at to each other with a single upright in the cornerposition;

FIG. 23 shows an angular zone of the partition between the ceiling andan upright; and finally FIG. 24 shows, in perspective, a completepartition wall provided according to the invention.

The various hollow sections and the individual coupling members andanchoring members are made, according to the invention, of plasticmaterial having suitable mechanical strength, and they are obtained veryrapidly and cheaply by means of the usual operations of extrusion.

The partition wall which is the subject of the invention is removablysecured to the floor, the ceiling and the opposing walls, and theerection thereof, particularly the erection of the supporting framework,is made according to reference lines previously drawn on the floor,ceiling and walls.

The several elements of the embodiment shown have in common thecharacteristic of presenting or being capable of forming grooves andribs which permit flexible, removable, matching dap jointing between theseveral members, which can thus be easily replaced and rearranged toform partition Walls of different configurations. The configurations ofthe individual elements can be readily grasped from the drawing and haveno need of further description of their structure as this will emergefrom the description of the functions and assembly of the individualparts which will now be given.

The stages of assembly follow each other, with reference to theaccompanying figures, preferably in the order here given.

On the lines drawn on the floor and in the position determined inadvance, are arranged the anchoring elements 1 (FIG. 12), consisting ofrabbet-joint plugs, which are then secured with screws or the likethrough holes 2. One of uprights 3 or 4 is forced onto or slipped overthis double plug member as shown in FIG. 17, to form a rabbet joint. Asimilar plug member is inserted in the top end of each upright 3 (or 4)and secured to the ceiling. When the selected uprights have thus beenset up, on the plate extensions of the double plug 1 (see FIG. 18), theT-shaped members or flanged elements 5 are secured to the floor, saidelements 5 extending in such a manner as to connect the base of oneupright with those of the others, either along a straight line or onlines at right angles to each other, as in the case of T-walls or thelike. The socle members 6, consisting of hollow plastic members having across-section as shown in FIG. 3, are placed on the elements 5; they arefitted on to the elements by rabbet jointing, the vertical fin 5' of themonorail element being inserted in the vertical guide slot 6' formedlongitudinally in the base of the socle 6 (see FIGURES 3 and 18).

The socle 6 is locked firmly in position by means of the small plate 7(FIGURES 16 and 18) screwed on the upright, and the transverse slit 7'of plate 7,which is coupled with the longitudinal fin 8 running on thetop of the socle 6 (FIG. 18). In order to have the socles 6 runningflush with the uprights, the ribs or flanges 9' and 9 (FIGURES 1, 2 and18) are removed from the uprights for the whole height of the socle 6.

Between one upright and another, above the socle 6 (however the latterbe arranged, e.g. in a straight line or at an angle as in FIGURES 22 and24), are fitted the panels proper 10, 10', or 10" etc. (FIGURES 21 and22) which can extend so as to complete the wall up to the ceiling or (asin FIG. 24) can reach a certain height and support a pane of glass 11.11, etc. which may also be of any size (FIGURES 21-24). The panels arepreferably made of plastic expanded or porous material (e.g. expandedpolystyrene or polyvinylchloride, by themselves or associated with wood,some other plastic material, rock Wool or the like) and arerabbet-jointed to the socle 6, i.e. by fitting a longitudinal slot notshown formed in the central zone of their bottom side, reinforced, ifneed be, by the metal or plastics element 12 (FIG. 10) over thelongitudinal fin 8 of the socle 6. Since panels 10, 10', 10" etc. havefixed and predetermined dimensions, they are fitted on to the socle 6side by side and are then locked at their vertical sides (as shown inthe sectional view of FIG. 22) by means of hollow extruded sections 13(FIGURES 11, 20 and 22) which are formed at their bottoms withlongitudinal slots 13', and 13" (FIG. 20) adapted to fit on to fins 8 ofthe socles 6, and, at their tops, are secured to the transverse ribmembers or stringers 14, whereof more will be said hereinafter) situatedat selected heights in transverse positions between the uprights, bymeans of the frontal joint plugs 15 (FIG. 15 and FIG. The various panels10, 10', etc. are formed with L-steps FIG. 22) resting on the oppositesides of the hollow members 13, whilst at the uprights (see FIG. 22still), member 13 is associated with a rib projection (9') 9 of theupright and L-step of the panel is made to match the member 13. Theseveral panels are kept exactly in the same vertical plane by theT-sections 16 (FIGURES 8 and 22) which are jammed between the continuoussides of the panels by deformation of their fins 16. These sections alsohave the function of providing a finished appearance to the whole wallof panels.

At the top of the panels is disposed a transverse rib member 14 (FIGURES4 and 21) with its opposite ends fixed to the walls of the uprights asshown in FIG.

19. For this purpose a portion of rib flange 9 of the height equal tothe thickness of the transverse rib member 14 is taken away, a plug-likeconnecting member 17 (FIGURES 14 and 19) is secured to the wall of theupright by means of screws 17' and the cavity of the transverse ribmember is fitted on to member 17, the rib member 14 being then locked tothe upright with transverse screw 18. This operation is carried out inthe same manner to secure rib members 14 in contact with the ceiling(FIGURES 14 and 23).

To keep the panels 10, 10' etc. in line, above all with the transverselib members 14 (FIG. 21), T-shaped sections 19 (FIGURES 6 and 21) arejammed by deformation of fins 19' between the elastic longitudinal slitsand apertures 20 and 20' (FIGURES 4 and 21) of the plastics rib members14. In this case too, sections 19 serve as covering members to give afinished appearance to the wall.

In the case where a panel is provided in contact with the rib member 14secured to the ceiling (FIGURES 23 and 24), a section 21 (FIGURES 7 and23) is also inserted between the rib member 14 and the panel, its topwing being narrower than its bottom one and running along the ceiling.

The fitting of one or more glass panes 11 between the lower and upperpanels (FIG. 24) is achieved as shown partially in FIG. 21.

The horizontal side of the glass pane is rested on rib member 14 and, incontact with the opposite sides of the pane there are horizontallyplaced the hollow members 22 (FIG. 9 and FIG. 21) which are in turnlocked to rib member 14 by means of screws and are fitted with sidefinishing members 19. The side of the pane which is in contact with theuprights (FIG. 21) is held in position on one side by rib projection 9'of the upright with the interposition of a section member 22 and, ifneed be, of an elastic gasket 23 of rubber or the like, and on the otherside by another section member like 22 or 13, secured to the uprightwith screws.

If the wall consists entirely of plastic panels, there will be notransverse rib members 14 (referring to FIG. 21) nor section members 22,23 and/or 13 in contact with the panes.

The wall is then completed by angular sections 24 (FIGURES 5 and 18),one of the flanges of which are inserted by elastic deformation betweenthe lower fins or lateral wing-like projections 25 of the socle 6,having the function of sealing members to prevent dead corners whicheasily collect dust and other refuse, and also of providing a finishedappearance.

The formation of T-walls and double-T-walls is shown in FIG. 22 whereinthe assembly of the several elements is clearly visible.

If there are any doors (FIG. 24) in order to provide a suitable rabbetfor the door 26, sections like the ones shown in FIG. 9 are associatedwith rib projections or ledges 9 (or 9') of the uprights.

Still according to the invention, the several sections forming the wallcan be strengthened with other sections of various materials.

It is manifest that, in practice, the invention hereinbefore describedaccording to a preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, can bemodified and varied in its details without departing from the scope ofthe invention; furthermore, the dimesions of the several elements andthe type of plastic material employed can be varied according to need. 7

From the foregoing description it will be further understood thatsubstantially all joints, such as the shown kind of rabbet joints ortongue and groove joints of the various component parts of the partitionwall are actually snap joints which, while providing a fast connectionof the component parts allow a rapid disassembling of same.

In fact the cooperating surfaces of the various joints are elasticallypressed one against the other and the friction between these surfacesprovides a good and safe hold. This cooperation is on the one hand dueto the shown configuration and shape of the component parts of thevarious joints and on the other hand to the suitably exploitedcharacteristics of the plastic material in combination with thefunctional shape give to the various parts. It will be observed that inthe shown joints the engaging surfaces are slightly inclined so as tocreate a kind of wedge action elastically attracting the mating partsone towards the other.

What is claimed is:

1. A readily assemblable and disassemblable partition comprising:

at least two spaced tubular plug-like outwardly extendingsynthetic-resin anchoring elements adapted to be secured to a supportingsurface;

respective tubular prismatic uprights of synthetic-resin material havingsocket portions of a configuration corresponding to that of each of saidelements and fitting removably thereover while being resiliently heldthereon under the elasticity of said material, said uprights each havinga pair of respective flanges extending longitudinally therealong onopposite faces of the upright adjacent diagonally opposite cornersthereof, at least a first one of said flanges on each of said uprightsextending in the direction of the other of said uprights;

a pair of plug-like tubular connecting members of synthetic-resinmaterial, each mounted upon one of said uprights and extending in thedirection of the other upright;

a longitudinally extending tubular stringer of syntheticresin materialbridging said uprights and having socket-forming extremities of aconfiguration conforming to that of said connecting members andremovably fitting thereover while being resiliently held thereon underthe elasticity of said material; and

a panel of synthetic-resin material abutting said stringer and saidfirst flanges of said uprights, said uprights having confronting facesresiliently sandwiching said panel between them, at least one of saidanchoring elements comprising a plate abutting said supporting surfacesand two symmetrical hollow parallelepipedal upright formations spacedfrom one another on said base, the upright mounted upon said one of saidanchoring elements having a central internal reinforcing web subdividingthe interior thereof into two compartments having contours correspondingwith those of said formations, said web having a thickness correspondingsubstantially to the distance between said formations and beingreceivable there-between.

2. A readily assemblable and disassemblable partition comprising:

at least two spaced tubular plug-like outwardly extendingsynthetic-resin anchoring elements adapted to be secured to a supportingsurface;

respective tubular prismatic uprights of synthetic-resin material havingsocket portions of a configuration corresponding to that of each of saidelements and fitting removably thereover while being resiliently heldthereon under the elasticity of said material, said uprights each havinga pair of respective flanges extending longitudinally therealong onopposite faces of the upright adjacent diagonally opposite cornersthereof, at least a first one of said flanges on each of said uprightsextending in the direction of the other of said uprights;

a pair of plug-like tubular connecting members of synthetic-resinmaterial, each mounted upon one of said uprights and extending in thedirection of the other upright;

a longitudinally extending tubular stringer of syntheticresin materialbridging said uprights and having socket-forming extremities of aconfiguration conforming to that of said connecting members andremovably 6 fitting thereover while being resiliently held thereon underthe elasticity of said material; and

a panel of synethic-resin material abutting said stringer and said firstflanges of said uprights, said uprights having confronting facesresiliently sandwiching said panel between them, said partition furthercomprising a T-shaped member intermediate said upright having avertically extending web portion, and a hollow socle member ofsynthetic-resin material provided with a groove releasably receivingsaid web with resilient engagement thereof, said panel abuttinglyengaging said socle member and being disposed between the latter andsaid stringer, said socle member being provided with a pair oflongitudinally extending ribs adapted to rest against said supportingsurface laterally outwardly of said T-shaped member and a pair ofdownwardly and outwardly extending longitudinal wing-like projectionsadjacent said supporting surface, said partition being provided withrespective cover members having a pair of flanges forming an acute angledisposed between the respective wing-like projection and said supportingsurface with one of the flanges of each of the cover members overlyingthe respective projection and the other flange of each cover memberunderlying the respective projection.

3. readily assemblable and disassemblable partition comprising:

at least two spaced tubular plug-like outwardly extendingsynthetic-resin anchoring elements adapted to be secured to a supportingsurface;

respective tubular prismatic uprights of synthetic-resin material havingsocket portions of a configuration corresponding to that of each of saidelements and fitting removably therover while being resiliently heldthereover while being resiliently held thereon under the elasticity ofsaid material, said uprights each having a pair of respective flangesextending longitudinally therealong on opposite faces of the uprightadjacent diagonally opposite corners thereof, at least a first one ofsaid flanges on each of said uprights extending in the direction of theother of said uprights;

a pair of plug-like tubular connecting members of synthetic-resinmaterial, each mounted upon one of said uprights and extending in thedirection of the other upright;

a longitudinally extending tubular stringer of syntheticresin materialbridging said uprights and having socket-forming extremities of aconfiguration conforming to that of said connecting members andremovably fitting thereover while being resiliently held thereon underthe elasticity of said material; and

a panel of synthetic-resin material abutting said stringer and saidfirst flanges of said uprights, said uprights having confronting facesresiliently sandwiching said panel between them, said panel having apair of flanges along its faces confronting said uprights at diagonallyopposite edges of said panel.

4. A partition as defined in claim 3 wherein said panel is composed of aplurality of continuous panel sections each having a pair of flanges atdiagonally opposite edges of the section, said sections forming achannel between them and a longitudinally extending tubular memberreceived in said channel for reinforcing said panel.

5. A partition as defined in claim 3 wherein said stringer is providedwith a pair of longitudinal recesses along faces of the stringerextending generally parallel to said panel, said partition furthercomprising a longitudinal extending cover member overlying an edge ofsaid panel adjacent said stringer and resiliently receivable with one ofsaid recesses.

(References on following page) References Cited bythe ExaminerFOREIGNSPATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS ii j 1113i? 8123? 13mm. 606,3486/1898 Kuhne 52-355 5 2223 241 3;; Britain. 352???? 3512;?31352133313313:221332 347,33 8/1960 Switzerland- 2 2 589,879 3/1952Sheppard 52 48 FRANK L'ABBOTTPimWY Examine- WILLIAM I. MUSHAKE, RICHARDW. COOKE, JR., 2,708,016 5/1955 Penton 52-396 Examinem 2,985,263 5/1961Maciunas 52-403 I. L. RIDGILL, Assistant Examiner.

2. A READILY ASSEMBLABLE AND DISSASSEMBLABLE PARTITION COMPRISING: ATLEAST TWO SPACED TUBULAR PLUG-LIKE OUTWARDLY EXTENDING SYNTHETIC-RESINANCHORING ELEMENTS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A SUPPORTING SURFACE;RESPECTIVE TUBULAR PRISMATIC UPRIGHTS OF SYNTHETIC-RESIN MATERIAL HAVINGSOCKET PORTIONS OF A CONFIGURATION CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF EACH OF SAIDELEMENTS AND FITTING REMOVABLY THEREOVER WHILE BEING RESILIENTLY HELDTHEREON UNDER THE ELASTICALLY OF SAID MATERIAL, SAID UPRIGHTS EACHHAVING A PAIR OF RESPECTIVE FLANGES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREALONGON OPPOSITE FACES OF THE UPRIGHT ADJACENT DIAGONALLY OPPOSITE FACESTHEREOF, AT LEAST A FIRST ONE OF SAID FLANGES ON EACH OF SAID UPRIGHTSEXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OTHER OF SAID UPRIGHTS, A PAIR OFPLUG-LIKE TUBULAR CONNECTING MEMBERS OF SYNTHETIC-RESIN MATERIAL, EACHMOUNTED UPON ONE OF SAID UPRIGHTS AND EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THEOTHER UPRIGHT; A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING TUBULAR STRINGER OFSYNTHETICRESIN MATERIAL BRIDGING SAID UPRIGHTS AND HAVING SOCKET-FORMINGEXTREMITIES OF A CONFIGURATION CONFORMING TO THAT OF SAID CONNECTINGMEMBERS AND REMOVABLY FITTING THEREOVER WHILE BEING RESILIENTLY HELDTHEREON UNDER THE ELASTICITY OF SAID MATERIAL; AND A PANEL OFSYNTHETIC-RESIN MATERIAL ABUTTING SAID STRINGER AND SAID FIRST FLANGESOF SAID UPRIGHTS, SAID UPRIGHTS HAVING CONFRONTING FACES RESILIENTLYSANDWICHING SAID PANEL BETWEEN THEM, SAID PARTITION FURTHER COMPRISING AT-SHAPED MEMBER INTERMEDIATE SAID UPRIGHT HAVING A VERTICALLY EXTENDINGWEB PORTION, AND A HOLLOW SOCLE MEMBER OF SYNTHETIC-RESIN MATERIALPROVIDED WITH A GROOVE RELEASABLY RECEIVING SAID WEB WITH RESILIENTENGAGEMENT THEREOF, SAID PANEL ABUTTINGLY ENGAGING SAID SOCLE MEMBER ANDBEING DISPOSED BETWEEN THE LATTER AND SAID STRINGER, SAID SOCLE MEMBERBEING PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL EXTENDING RIBS ADAPTED TOREST AGAINST SAID SUPPORTNG SURFACE LATERALLY OUTWARDLY OR SAID T-SHAPEDMEMBR AND A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY EXTENDING LONGUTIDNALWING-LIKE PROJECTIONS ADJACENT SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE, AND PARTITIONBEING PROVIDED WITH RESPECTIVE COVER MEMBERS HAVING A PAIR OF FLANGESFORMING AN ACUTE ANGLE DISPOSED BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE WING-LIKEPROJECTION AND SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE WITH ONE OF THE FLANGES OF EACHOF THE COVER MEMBERS OVERLYING THE RESPECTIVE PROJECTION AND THE OTHERFLANGE OF EACH COVER MEMBER UNDERLYING THE RESPECTIVE PROJECTION.